


Reject

by Cumberbatch Critter (CumberbatchCritter)



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: BFFs, Depression, Encouragement, Family, Friendship, Gen, Guy gives a little speech!, Guy's a good friend, Guys Hugging, Hurt/Comfort, Luke's a sad sack, friends - Freeform, pity, wallowing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 00:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1622132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CumberbatchCritter/pseuds/Cumberbatch%20Critter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS!</p>
<p>Set during the month after the group defeats Van where Luke is wallowing in his cloud of self-pity: <br/>Guy goes to visit his friend and tries to talk some sense into him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reject

Luke sighed heavily, pressing his face into his pillow.

"Master, are you going to get out of bed today?" Mieu squeaked, trotting up next to Luke's pillow.

"Shut up, Thing."

"Master, you could go visit the Cheagle Elder!"

"Now why the hell would I want to do that?!" Luke snapped, rolling over so his back was to the cheagle.

"Mieuuu..."

Three knocks on the door drew the conversation away from Cheagle Woods and the journey of the past months.

"Dammit, I said I don't want anything! Go away!" Luke snapped, grabbing his pillow and shoving it over his face.

The door swung open. "Well, that's a fine greeting. I know I don't work for you anymore, but you'd think our friendship meant _something_."

Luke pulled the pillow off his face. " _Guy_?" He stared across the room at his blonde-haired friend, face screwing up in a frown. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Guy laughed. "Hey, there _was_ a time where you begged me to stop by, don't you remember?"

"Yeah, because I was bored as hell with nothing to do." Luke pushed himself into a sitting position. "I thought you were... well, busy or something. Where are you now, anyway? With Jade and Emporer Peony?"

Guy closed the door and strode across the room, taking an uninvited seat on the end of Luke's bed. "Uh huh. You'd know if you read the letters, but then... Mieu said you haven't gotten any letters. I sent one. I'm pretty sure Tear did, too."

"Letters...?" Luke frowned. "Wait, what do you mean 'Mieu said'?" He looked at the cheagle. "Have you been sending letters to Guy behind my back, pipsqueak?"

"Guy said that he wanted to know what happened to you when we broke apart a month ago, so I updated him while you slept!" Mieu said proudly. "I wrote the letter myself!"

"How did you pick up a pen?!"

Guy laughed again, folding his fingers behind his head. "I see you're getting on just as well as you used to. But, Luke, Mieu said you haven't been out of bed much. Haven't you at least gone to see Tear?"

Luke sighed, flopping back. "Why would I? It's not like she wants to see me or anything. We all just met up because of Van and Mohs..."

"So, you think we're not friends anymore just because our mission is complete?"

Luke huffed. "I don't know."

"Or maybe you're feeling sorry for yourself," Guy said contemplatively, "because now you're back here in Baticul and everyone knows you're just a replica."

Luke frowned and rolled over. "Mieu, I forbid you from ever writing another letter ever again."

"It's for your own good, Master! I promise!"

"Besides, Mieu didn't tell me that. I can see that written on your face," Guy added.

Luke sighed. "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm just a replica. I'm not even a real Fabre... Asch should be here, not me."

"Idiot."

Luke glanced up.

"Just because you're not the son of Duke Fabre doesn't mean you don't belong here. You've been here, just like Natalia has, and you know what you said to her."

"That's different."

"How is it different?" Guy retorted.

"She's not a replica. My original is still here and he should be the one living in royalty, not out doing whatever... he's doing," Luke muttered.

"Stop wallowing," Guy said. "You need to get up and do what you used to, regardless of how people look at you. Asch didn't come back. You're the only son of Duke Fabre that this city knows."

"No, I'm not. I'm just the useless remains."

"Don't say that!" Guy snapped. "You're not useless and you're not Asch's remains. You're _you_. Nobody's asking you to be Asch."

Luke rolled over again and sat up, hauling himself to his feet. "No... They're not asking me to be Asch, but the way they look at me and the way they talk to me... It's not the same as when they talk to Natalia." He stopped at the window. "She did stuff for this town. The people like her. She helped them and they want to help her. But I've never done anything for Baticul... I only just recently learned how to do things for _myself_ ," he muttered.

"Well, it's a brand new day and you've been laying in bed. You can't accomplish anything to make people respect you like that," Guy replied.

"It's not that easy." Luke sighed. "No one wants anything to do with me. I'm just a fake, a useless failure. Asch said so all the time."

Guy stood up. "Don't listen to whatever Asch says. He's just as hot-headed as you used to be."

"But he's _right_."

"No, he's not!" Guy gripped Luke's shoulders, spinning him around. "Listen to me! You have the power to be the next Duke, replica or not. It doesn't matter if Asch says you're useless. I know what you did, I've seen how you've grown. You are _not_ useless and you're certainly not a fake. You're my friend, Luke, you're all of our's friend, and you are _not_ a reject. Get that through your thick skull."

Luke looked at him for a moment before sighing again. "Yeah, okay..."

"So, stop beating yourself up and come join the ranks of the living," Guy said. He wrapped his arms around Luke and, the next thing Luke knew, he was subjected to a hug that was almost painful in the way that Guy squeezed him.

"Guy..."

Guy pulled away, offering a smile. "Now I don't want to hear from Mieu that you're sulking any longer! I don't want to have to come here again for another intervention."

Luke smiled faintly. "... Uh huh. Do you think... maybe we could go see some of the others? Jade and... Anise and Ion and... and Tear, too?"

Guy raised his eyebrows. "Are you asking me to come with you?"

"Well, I haven't see you in the past month! I don't even know what you're doing," Luke muttered, turning back to the window.

Guy laughed. "Hey now, don't look so flustered. We're friends!" He grinned, shaking his head. "Anyway, I haven't been doing much, although I think the biggest thing that's happened so far is that I'm assigned to walking Peony's rappigs."

Luke looked up. "He _still_ has those things?!"

"In his room," Guy said seriously. "You know, the more time I spend with him, the more I see why him and Jade get along so well."

Luke huffed a laugh. "Yeah, really. So..." He looked back at Guy. "Should we... catch a ferry or do you have somewhere else to be...?"

"Hmm... Well..." Guy tapped his chin. "I did tell Emporer Peony that I was off to see you, so he probably expects a delay with that thick head of yours..."

"Hey!"

"So, I probably have a little while that I can spend away," Guy finished, as though he hadn't been interrupted. "But only a little while. Some of us have things we need to be doing."

Luke nodded. "Yeah... Maybe I'll find somewhere where I can help, too."

Guy smiled. "Maybe you will. Come on. We can get a little sword-training in while we wait on the ship."

Luke grinned. "I won't let you beat me!"

"Yay! We're going to see our old friends!" Mieu hopped down from the bed to the floor, waddling after the retreating duo.

"Yeah, we finally got Master Luke out of the house, didn't we, Mieu?" Guy asked.

"Yes!" Mieu trilled. "I'm so proud of you, Master!"

"Shut up, Mieu! I thought I told you to stop calling me that!"

Guy laughed as Luke turned around to lay into Mieu - some habits never died, so it seemed, and Mieu seemed to have a way of getting under Luke's skin in the most familial way possible. "You and Mieu act like siblings."

"Oh, _hell_ , no! I'm not related to that _Thing_!"

"Mieuuu..."

Guy's laughter led the way out of the mansion, although Luke's laughter was intermingled with it this time, too.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a couple days ago (and have thus progressed past the point in the game where Guy punches Luke, at which moment I was like HE FINALLY DID IT, but I have yet not finished the game) when I was at the point in the game after 'defeating' Van and Luke's really depressed, and I thought - did none of them even bother to come check on him? Even Guy?
> 
> So. I wrote it. My version of it, anyway. I know it probably would have changed the way the game played, but I wanted to write it anyway.
> 
> I don't own _Tales of the Abyss_. All rights belong to Bandai and Namco Tales. Thanks for reading!


End file.
